Cheetah

It would be great if there was a book or someone would think of doing one on the Cheetah. Despite having a Low Number being built, there have been other vehicles that are less known and have had less cars built that have books/dvds on them. Nice would be to see A Cheetah Book/DVD.

Unfortunately, the small market won't support much of a Cheetah book, but it's mentioned in the books Modern Classics (2 pages) by Rich Taylor and in Vintage American Road Racing Cars by Pace and Brinker (one-half page). Both books also cover scores of other small-production race cars, so they are worth finding. The Cheetah may have had more coverage in Vintage Motorsport magazine.

Frank is spot on. Cranking out a book is the easy part. Getting it published is the trick. When I started searching out a publisher for my first effort, I found that the standard reponse I received was 'too small a potential audience for the subject'. It is one thing to get a book firm to publish a book about Cobra, Ferrari, or Porsche, but when it comes to a subject as limited as Cheetah I am afraid that the market simply is not there for the publisher to risk the investment. Sad but true.

Frank is spot on. Cranking out a book is the easy part. Getting it published is the trick. When I started searching out a publisher for my first effort, I found that the standard reponse I received was 'too small a potential audience for the subject'. It is one thing to get a book firm to publish a book about Cobra, Ferrari, or Porsche, but when it comes to a subject as limited as Cheetah I am afraid that the market simply is not there for the publisher to risk the investment. Sad but true.

Tom

Tom/Frank

Guys, Very True.. I will give you a example: Scarab By Preston Lerner, Wonderful Book,Long out of print and I have a Copy. I had never heard of The Scarab before years back until I read it at the library(2004?)which oddly had a copy and then I brought it secondhand for $200+ on ebay. (2004)

Other Book That I love and Would recommend is Corvette Racing Legends:The Story of The L-88 Corvette by Dr. Peter "Pete" J. Gimenez. 2008,Vettura Publishing.

I guess there is always limited publishing(expensive to buy though) and self published.

Ray
A long time ago on a circuit far far away, a couple of guys had a "Q" type MG. They took the engine out and stuck it into a little space frame chassis of their own devising. They called it Cheetah.
Somebody must have Oulton programmes recording this.
At the end of the eighties I met a young man Mark ?, a mechanic at the local Honda Dealer in Macclesfield who had inherited the Q type from his grandfather, I asked about the space frame but unfortunately he was not aware of it's existence, nor unhappily was he bothered enough to ask about it and he had no real interest, save pecuniary, in the "Q".
John

In case anyone is interested, this photo is almost certainly Sam Goins or at least it is his car and he still owns it in essentially the same condition. It is shown in a photo here a few years ago at the Cincinnati concours: http://www.cincyconc...ls/DSC_4055.jpg

It has been a few years since I spoke to Sam but I know that he bought the car used in I think '65 and took delivery at Road America so this could be from his first weekend with it or possibly the last run of the previous owner. I wonder if he knows of this photo. Sam raced it a bit in SCCA club racing for a few years until deeming it outgunned by the more modern sports racers that ran his class. He put the car away and made almost no modifications to it and brings it our now and then to show. I was told that it is considered to be the or one of the most original Cheetahs remaining because he didn't try to update it nor was it crashed. He said that a toy company came and took very accurate measurements of his car once to make a Cheetah toy car from it. I always thought the Cheetahs were very cool and my stepfather used tell me great stories about them. After inspecting the driver's compartment close up, one is struck by how dedicated you must have been to drive one with about as low a score on the ergonomics scale as can be. Makes me yearn to fix my Devin, sane by comparison to the Cheetah.

At the Westwood50 race meeting at Mission, in BC, in July 2009, there was a 1964 Cheetah entered by Fred Yeakel:

It was great to have Fred and daughter Jeni there with the Cheetah. Allen Grant, who drove the car in its first race, at Westwood in 1964, was also there, as was his mechanic, Larry Webb. Here is the link to Fred's website:

In case anyone is interested, this photo is almost certainly Sam Goins or at least it is his car and he still owns it in essentially the same condition. It is shown in a photo here a few years ago at the Cincinnati concours: http://www.cincyconc...ls/DSC_4055.jpg

It has been a few years since I spoke to Sam but I know that he bought the car used in I think '65 and took delivery at Road America so this could be from his first weekend with it or possibly the last run of the previous owner. I wonder if he knows of this photo. Sam raced it a bit in SCCA club racing for a few years until deeming it outgunned by the more modern sports racers that ran his class. He put the car away and made almost no modifications to it and brings it our now and then to show. I was told that it is considered to be the or one of the most original Cheetahs remaining because he didn't try to update it nor was it crashed. He said that a toy company came and took very accurate measurements of his car once to make a Cheetah toy car from it. I always thought the Cheetahs were very cool and my stepfather used tell me great stories about them. After inspecting the driver's compartment close up, one is struck by how dedicated you must have been to drive one with about as low a score on the ergonomics scale as can be. Makes me yearn to fix my Devin, sane by comparison to the Cheetah.

Speaking of Devin, There is a new albeit short book (black&white) softcover on Devin and his cars is the title.

Another cool car that made an impression on this young mind was the Bocar I saw on display in the 06' or 07' gallery of legends @ Sebring 12hrs. Nice red race car.

In case anyone is interested, this photo is almost certainly Sam Goins or at least it is his car and he still owns it in essentially the same condition.

Nope. This is Bud Clusseruth in the Cheetah. The event is the 1965 Road America 500. Clusseruth definitely was the driver. Goins may have taken possession at this event, but not until Clusseruth had driven it in the race.

Clusseruth received wide publicity in the enthusiasts' press for his actions in this race. There was a big crash in the Carousel, in fact right about where this photo was taken, that involved, among others, Jack Ensley in his Apache Special and Clinton Lindburg in an Elva. Ensley's car flipped and came down on top of Linburg's car. A fire immediately erupted. Clusseruth, coming through shortly after the huge fire started, immediately stopped his Cheetah and pulled Lindburg out of the flaming wreck. The race was red flagged. Having pulled Lindburg free and with the arrival of the rescue personnel, Clusseruth walked up the hill a ways and sat down in what shade he could find to await the restart. The rescue crews then noticed this Cheetah sitting there with no driver in it. The rescue workers then began a frantic search of the wreckage, thinking that somehow the driver of the Cheetah had gotten involved since he was not in his car. Finally, an amused Clusseruth ambled over and introduced himself to the safety crew, ending their panic at having 'lost' a driver.

Goins had the car at Road America some ten or so years ago, for the Sept. VSCDA vintage race, as I recall, and it was posed and photographed by a representative of Vintage Motorsport magazine for its "Pick of the Liter" spotlight sidebar. To my disappointment, the magazine then ran a story on another car and the short article on this Cheetah never appeared. Too bad, it would have been nice.

Nope. This is Bud Clusseruth in the Cheetah. The event is the 1965 Road America 500. Clusseruth definitely was the driver. Goins may have taken possession at this event, but not until Clusseruth had driven it in the race.

Clusseruth received wide publicity in the enthusiasts' press for his actions in this race. There was a big crash in the Carousel, in fact right about where this photo was taken, that involved, among others, Jack Ensley in his Apache Special and Clinton Lindburg in an Elva. Ensley's car flipped and came down on top of Linburg's car. A fire immediately erupted. Clusseruth, coming through shortly after the huge fire started, immediately stopped his Cheetah and pulled Lindburg out of the flaming wreck. The race was red flagged. Having pulled Lindburg free and with the arrival of the rescue personnel, Clusseruth walked up the hill a ways and sat down in what shade he could find to await the restart. The rescue crews then noticed this Cheetah sitting there with no driver in it. The rescue workers then began a frantic search of the wreckage, thinking that somehow the driver of the Cheetah had gotten involved since he was not in his car. Finally, an amused Clusseruth ambled over and introduced himself to the safety crew, ending their panic at having 'lost' a driver.

Goins had the car at Road America some ten or so years ago, for the Sept. VSCDA vintage race, as I recall, and it was posed and photographed by a representative of Vintage Motorsport magazine for its "Pick of the Liter" spotlight sidebar. To my disappointment, the magazine then ran a story on another car and the short article on this Cheetah never appeared. Too bad, it would have been nice.

Tom

Tom,

Great info thanks.

I have a 1/43 Resin Model(came built not a kit) from Spark Models of the #26 So-Cal Roadster. it's beautiful. I am happy Spark makes them now. there were expensive builts and kits of the car.

I have a 1/43 Resin Model(came built not a kit) from Spark Models of the #26 So-Cal Roadster.

That's the Cro-Sal Roadster, Jose. Cro for Gene Crowe, Ralph Salyer's long time engineer and chief wrench, and Sal, of course, for Ralph Salyer. Salyer found that the Cheetah coupe was just too hot inside so they lopped the top off.Tom

That's the Cro-Sal Roadster, Jose. Cro for Gene Crowe, Ralph Salyer's long time engineer and chief wrench, and Sal, of course, for Ralph Salyer. Salyer found that the Cheetah coupe was just too hot inside so they lopped the top off.Tom

Before Bill Thomas produced his 1964 Cheetah there was a special -- well remembered in mid-1950s American road racing -- that carried the name Cheetah. Built by John Plaisted in 1954, and raced by John and his son Stutz well into the 1960s, the Plaisted Cheetah was a classic example of an American special developed specifically for road racing. It was based on a 1952 Ford chassis and powered by a 331 cubic inch Cadillac engine with four two-barrel Ford carburetors on an Edelbrock manifold. It had a LaSalle three-speed transmission and a Frankland quick-change rear end.

In this photo, the Cheetah is seen on the pace lap for the 1955 Seneca Cup at Watkins Glen. The Seneca Cup was a popular race at the annual Watkins Glen Grand Prix in September. It was an unrestricted -- or Formula Libre -- event and, as such, featured interesting and varied cars. The Cheetah is on the inside of the second row (second car from the left in the photo). The field featured some other interesting cars (including the pace car -- the Tipo Italiano Chrysler-powered Falcon) with the ex-Erwin Goldschmidt Cadillac Allard JR -- owned and driven by Bob Bucher -- on the front row alongside the Maserati V8RI of Phil Cade. The photo features two of the only four V8RIs produced. Cade's car is chassis 4501 -- at this point in its life powered by a Chrysler engine. Directly behind Cade is George Weaver in his Maserati V8RI (4504). Finally, on the far left -- just exiting Townsend corner on the 4.6 mile interim road course -- is yet another hybrid special with important connections to the history of post-war American road racing, the ex-Miles Collier Ardent Alligator (a 1929 Brooklands Riley fitted with a flat-head V-8 Mercury engine) owned and driven by George B. Rabe.

In the second photo is an original Bill Thomas 1964 Cheetah as lovingly restored by John Mayer over a four-year period. Accounts differ as to how many of these cars were actually completed by Thomas -- some experts put the number at 17 -- before the factory burned to the ground. This Cheetah had a short life as a road racer before moving to the drag strip for most of its competitive career in period. After suffering some minimal fire damage in competition the car languished in a barn in Iowa before being saved by Mayer. In this photo the Mayer Racing Cheetah is enjoying a second racing life in the hands of Mike Argetsinger at Road America in the Brian Redman International Challenge at Road America in July 2006. Thanks for your interest. Brian Brown

Slightly (very) off topic. here is another Cheetah from a similare era. A kit car produced by Watford Sports Cars Ltd. designed to use ford parts.As an aside, I own what I believe to be the very same Sprite hardtop shown in the advert.

Originally posted by B SquaredBefore Bill Thomas produced his 1964 Cheetah there was a special -- well remembered in mid-1950s American road racing -- that carried the name Cheetah. Built by John Plaisted in 1954, and raced by John and his son Stutz well into the 1960s, the Plaisted Cheetah was a classic example of an American special developed specifically for road racing. It was based on a 1952 Ford chassis and powered by a 331 cubic inch Cadillac engine with four two-barrel Ford carburetors on an Edelbrock manifold. It had a LaSalle three-speed transmission and a Frankland quick-change rear end.

In this photo, the Cheetah is seen on the pace lap for the 1955 Seneca Cup at Watkins Glen. The Seneca Cup was a popular race at the annual Watkins Glen Grand Prix in September. It was an unrestricted -- or Formula Libre -- event and, as such, featured interesting and varied cars. The Cheetah is on the inside of the second row (second car from the left in the photo). The field featured some other interesting cars (including the pace car -- the Tipo Italiano Chrysler-powered Falcon) with the ex-Erwin Goldschmidt Cadillac Allard JR -- owned and driven by Bob Bucher -- on the front row alongside the Maserati V8RI of Phil Cade. The photo features two of the only four V8RIs produced. Cade's car is chassis 4501 -- at this point in its life powered by a Chrysler engine. Directly behind Cade is George Weaver in his Maserati V8RI (4504). Finally, on the far left -- just exiting Townsend corner on the 4.6 mile interim road course -- is yet another hybrid special with important connections to the history of post-war American road racing, the ex-Miles Collier Ardent Alligator (a 1929 Brooklands Riley fitted with a flat-head V-8 Mercury engine) owned and driven by George B. Rabe.....

Nice to see some US Specials on here, there's just not enough of them make it!

What a mix! '52 Ford chassis, probably considered fairly up to date in its day, I wonder if it was shortened?

I guess it had the La Salle gearbox because by the time the 331 ohv V8 was introduced manual gearboxes were somewhat passé with Caddy buyers? Or maybe the ratios were dreadfully out of whack? Now I think of it, I recall seeing a 3-speed Caddy manual trans in the pile at Frank Tonitto's place a couple of years ago, it was undoubtedly from the fifties.

The carby and manifold bear testimony to the aftermarket industry's developing interest in the ohv V8s, but was it a devil to tune?

Nice stuff, let's have more of it!

.....In the second photo is an original Bill Thomas 1964 Cheetah as lovingly restored by John Mayer over a four-year period. Accounts differ as to how many of these cars were actually completed by Thomas -- some experts put the number at 17 -- before the factory burned to the ground. This Cheetah had a short life as a road racer before moving to the drag strip for most of its competitive career in period. After suffering some minimal fire damage in competition the car languished in a barn in Iowa before being saved by Mayer. In this photo the Mayer Racing Cheetah is enjoying a second racing life in the hands of Mike Argetsinger at Road America in the Brian Redman International Challenge at Road America in July 2006. Thanks for your interest.

Always looked a great 'no compromises' car, I recall well reading about them in SCG when they were first built... they were such a businesslike thing. Funnily enough, there are some similarly businesslike front engined cars in the You Tube link posted yesterday by Repco Von Brabham (the 'Not the Can-Am' thread).

Slightly (very) off topic. here is another Cheetah from a similare era. A kit car produced by Watford Sports Cars Ltd. designed to use ford parts.As an aside, I own what I believe to be the very same Sprite hardtop shown in the advert.

Not O/T. It's a Cheetah,Not the same Cheetah but a Cheetah nonetheless.

Although i have never had the luxury of seeing one in person - i like many find the cheetah a beautiful looking machine.

Here is a link for any others interested, to my blog - to a section i had for the cheetah - a grab bag of info (a mix of slot cars in restoration, a couple of magazine ads from back in the day, an old 'classified ad or two' etc etc.

The Bud Clusseruth car at Mid Ohio in 1965 or 1966. I believe this was an SCCA National event. In the second picture I like the Dzus buttons lined up on the cowl behind the fuel injection. That's a guaranteed quick trip to oblivion on my race cars! I still have a 1/24th scale Cheetah model (by Cox?) that I painted but never assembled.